Photo and Video: Hall ‘Hoover’ Hunt Wins KSO VI Jacksonville Qualifier

Competitive eater Hall 'Hoover' Hunt addresses the crowd prior to vacuuming down 40 Krystal hamburgers and 5 Big Angus Burgers in eight minutes at the KSO VI Jacksonville qualifier.

On a beautiful Labor Day Weekend at the Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Fla., thousands of spectators gathered at the Krystal Square Off VI Jacksonville qualifier event to witness the seventh-ranked eater in the world, Hall “Hoover” Hunt, suck down 40 Krystal hamburgers and 5 Big Angus Burgers in eight minutes for a total of 65 Krystal Burger points.

The feat qualifies Hunt for the Krystal Square Off VI World Hamburger Eating Championship final table, scheduled for Sept. 27 in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he will face KSO VI Chattanooga qualifier Pat Bertoletti, KSO VI San Antonio Qualifier Sonya Thomas, along with two-time defending champ and Krystal world record holder Joey Chestnut and three-time Krystal Square Off World Champion Takeru Kobayashi with a $50,000 cash purse on the line.

Check out this video of the Jacksonville qualifier shot by Jason Isaac from the site Jacksonville Confidential:

And here is a selection of photos from Monday’s event in Jacksonville. To see more head over to the KSO VI Jacksonville photo gallery:

Hall Hunt Victorious Again at Jacksonville Krystal Square Off Qualifier

Hometown hero Hall Hunt takes first at Krystal Square Off VI Jacksonville Qualifying event

Jacksonville, Fla.’s hometown hero Hall Hunt cruised to victory today at the Jacksonville Landing, chomping away 40 Krystal hamburgers and 5 Big Angus Burgers in eight minutes for a total of 65 points.

The win at the third stop of the qualifying tour for the Krystal Square Off VI World Hamburger Eating Championship earns Hunt a spot at the final table on Sept. 27, held in Krystal’s hometown of Chattanooga. There, Hunt, the seventh-ranked eater in the world, will go up against two-time defending champ and Krystal world record holder Joey Chestnut, three-time Krystal Square Off World Champion Takeru Kobayashi, the top finisher from each regional qualifier and two wild card entries. On the line will be a $50,000 cash purse, the largest in competitive eating history.

Finishing in second today was Jon Bello with 36 points (11 Krystals and 5 Big Angus Burgers). In third was RJ Frasca with 35 points (10 Krystals and 5 Big Angus Burgers).

Full results below:

Hall “Hoover” Hunt – 65 Krystal Burger Points (40 Krystals, 5 Big Angus)

Jon Bello – 36 Krystal Burger Points (11 Krystals, 5 Big Angus)

RJ Frasca – 35 Krystal Burger Points (10 Krystals, 5 Big Angus)

Paul Baker – 23 Krystal Burger Points (3 Krystals, 4 Big Angus)

Will Isom – 22 Krystal Burger Points (7 Krystals, 3 Big Angus)

Tyrane Reese – 17 Krystal Burger Points (2 Krystals, 3 Big Angus)

Byron Perry – 15 Krystal Burger Points (0 Krystals, 3 Big Angus)

William Young – 15 Krystal Burger Points

Bruce “the Hangman” Pobanz – 13 Krystal Burger Points (3 Krystals, 2 Big Angus)

Kerry Speckman – 12 Krystal Burger Points (2 Krystals, 2 Big Angus)

Rowdy Warren – 9 Krystal Burger Points (9 Krystals, 0 Big Angus)

Shannon Ray – 7 Krystal Burger Points (7 Krystals, 0 Big Angus)

Hall Hunt To Compete In Krystal Square Off Qualifier In Jacksonville

Jacksonville's hometown champion will compete once again in the Krystal Square Off to earn a seat next to reigning title holder, Joey Chestnut, in downtown Chattanooga on Sept. 27

No surprise here.

Hall “Hoover” Hunt, the seventh-ranked eater in the world and a Krystal Lover Hall of Fame member, will once again seek his spot at the Krystal Square Off VI World Hamburger Eating Championship by competing in the Jacksonville, Fla. Qualifier this Labor Day.

The Jacksonville native, who placed sixth at the final table of Krystal Square Off V with 63 Krystals in eight minutes, will seek to repeat as the hometown champion when the 8-minute qualifying event is held on Monday, Sept. 7 at the Jacksonville Landing. Hunt won last year’s Jacksonville Qualifier in convincing fashion with 60 Krystals in 8-minutes, out-chomping Sonya Thomas and eclipsing Joey Chestnut’s previous Jacksonville record of 52 Krystals set in 2006.

This year, Hunt may not have to contend with the likes of Sonya Thomas on his hometown turf but he will have to tackle both the famous Krystal Burger and the new Big Angus Burgers while adhering to the new “No Dunking” policy. His “academic” approach to eating and the new rules could give him the competitive advantage he needs to dominate his fellow eaters and push him into the Top 5 at the Krystal Square Off VI Championship.

Open registration for amateur contenders will begin at 1 p.m. at the Jacksonville Landing, where five hopefuls will be chosen “on-the-spot” to compete against Hunt in the eight-minute event and earn a seat at the finals next to the world’s number one ranked eater Joey Chestnut. The Jacksonville Qualifier will commence shortly after at 2 p.m.

For more information on the New Rules, watch the Krystal Square Off VI video here.

Video Of Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier

The full video of the entire 8-minute Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier is now posted on YouTube and here on KrystalSquareOff.com. Watch as top eating pros Hall Hunt and Sonya Thomas and a host of others battle for burger supremacy along the mighty St. John’s River for a seat at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship on Sept. 28.

Click play below to view.

For photos from the contest, go here.

Eating Pros And ‘Average Joes’ Get Ready To Square Off In Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier is less than 30 minutes from starting, and the word on the scene is that the heat, humidity and occasional downpour hasn’t stopped hundreds of competitive eating fans from coming down to the Jacksonville Landing to cheer on their favorite eaters as they battle it out for a seat at the live, televised World Championship on Sept. 28.

While Hall Hunt is hands down the hometown favorite today, we hear there are some big time Sonya Thomas supporters among the crowd with a few people donning “I Love Sonya Thomas” shirts and one sign that says “Marry Me Sonya.” The Black Widow surely doesn’t like to disappoint, and we expect today to be a bite-for-bite battle until the very end between the two competitive eating pros.

For those not following along on the Krystal Square Off Twitter feed, you’re missing out on the action as it happens. As mentioned via Twitter earlier today, the below is the official list of eaters confirmed for today’s event:

Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas–Alexandria, VA
Hall “Hoover” Hunt–Jacksonville, FL
Bruce “The Hangman” Pobanz–Jacksonville, FL
Glen Owens–Hilliard, FL
Michael Parish–Tamarac, FL
Jeremy Kirch–Jacksonville, FL
Mark Barnes–Orlando, FL
Mike Greenspan–North Hollywood, CA

More than 50 “average Joes” have also signed up today for the chance to be one of the five amateur hopefuls picked on the spot to compete.

Don’t miss out on the action as it happens. Sign up to follow the Krystal Square Off V Qualifiers via Twitter. To read what you’ve missed so far, click on the “up” and “down” arrows on the Twitter box located on the right of this page.

KSOV Podcast: The Sonya Thomas Interview

Every week during this year’s Krystal Square Off V tour, we’re interviewing the biggest names in competitive eating, and this week the spotlight is on Sonya Thomas and Hall Hunt as they prepare for the Jacksonville Qualifier this Labor Day. As we stated yesterday, the contest down in J-Ville looks to be a good one, with Hall competing on his home turf and constantly improving his numbers and Sonya looking to hush her critics who say she’s no longer a threat when it comes to Krystals.

We talked with Sonya via phone yesterday and asked her how she felt about this Monday’s event and whether she thinks Hall “Hoover” Hunt will challenge her. The Black Widow also shared with us who she’s picking to win it all at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship (it isn’t Joey Chestnut), what she thinks the top number will be (it isn’t as high as Humble Bob’s prediction), what she predicts for herself and what kind of pressure she’s putting on herself this year.

Finally, we asked Sonya some of the great questions our readers submitted via the Krystal Square Off Twitter feed and on this site.

Hear all Sonya Thomas had to say by listening to the audio podcast below, and stay tuned for our podcast with Hall Hunt later today.

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Tale Of The Tape: Sonya Thomas Vs. Hall Hunt

While the Chattanooga Qualifier proved to be a cake walk for “Humble” Bob Shoudt, this Labor Day’s Krystal Square Off Qualifier in Jacksonville is shaping up to be a grudge match of epic proportions between two of competitive eating’s biggest stars: Sonya Thomas and Hall “Hoover” Hunt.

So who has the edge? Let’s break it down.

“The Black Widow” is one of the sport’s all-time greats, and on paper, she has the edge over Hoover in both experience and numbers. She’s one of a few eaters who has competed all four years of the Krystal Square Off and she has never lost a qualifier. Her personal best at Krystals is 62, which she did back in 2006. Her lowest tallies were 42 and 46, which she did at the 2004 Chattanooga Qualifier and 2004 finals, respectively. Since then she’s been over the 50 mark at every contest, averaging just above 53 Krystals lifetime. Most recently, she qualified for last year’s World Championship by downing 51 Krystals and went on to eat 58 at the finals.

As for Hall, he missed the first year of the Krystal Square Off, but he more than made up for that absence by competing in three qualifiers in 2005 alone, each time improving upon his performance, going from 24 to 26 to 30. Looking at the EatFeats database, Hall has competed in a total of six Krystal Square Off qualifiers in addition to his three final appearances over the past three years, so he actually has an edge over Thomas on the number of times he’s handled Krystals. That experience has helped him make considerable strides over the years. Last year he took down the Jacksonville Qualifier by wolfing down 49 Krystals and he went on to gobble up 51 at the finals to finish in 7th place.

In addition to steadily improving at every contest, another plus for Hall this Labor Day will be crowd support. He’s a Jacksonville local and the steady roar of “Hoover…Hoover…Hoover” from the audience may give him the extra edge needed to propel him to victory.

Finally, Hall lives in Krystal country with Jacksonville one of the fast food icon’s biggest markets, so he has plenty of opportunities to train. Thomas, on the other hand, is a few hundred miles away from the nearest Krystal, and as stated the other day, she hasn’t been practicing. So the first Krystal to her mouth since last year’s final will likely be the one she eats when the 8-minute clock starts on Monday.

So who do you think has the edge? And what numbers do you think these two eaters will put up?

Want to know what’s happening along the tour as it happens? Sign up to get messages from this year’s tour via Twitter here.